Africa is receiving increased investment in the Data Center space. The year 2021 was a turning point, some of the interesting highlights include:
- Equinix entered the African market with the acquisition of the largest data center operator and ISP – MainOne.
Vantage Data Center $1B data center investment in South Africa. - Cloudoon – MAS101 100% Green data center in Kenya, Africa.
- Africa Data Center $500m expansion in 10 hyperscale data centers across Africa.
The year 2022 is likely to be even a bigger year for the African Data Center space.
In the list above is a $60m data center Cloudoon – MAS101 is a relatively smaller project on the list but is a game-changer, this is why.
MAS101 is the first 100% green data center, Power source A is hydropower, Power source B is solar power.
It is also one of the first high power density data centers. Most data centers in the continent are designed for a low power density of about 4.5KW per rack. MAS101 is designed for a high power density of up from 30KW per rack.
High power density provides better efficiency, with a higher PUE.
MAS101 promises to cut the cost of colocation by 50%, to globally competitive prices.
MAS101 has a rack capacity of 2500 racks and a possible total IT load of 60MW. This capacity would make the facility the largest data center in Africa, and one of the largest green data centers in the world.
MAS101 utilizes a high-tech water cooling technology, water supplied to the facility via gravity.
As per the time of writing the promise of MAS101 is uncertain, the developer is yet to close on the entire financing, hopefully, by now the financing is secured.